Benito Juarez

Benito Juárez

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For other uses, see Benito Juárez (disambiguation).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Juárez and the second or maternal family name is García.

Benito Juárez

Benito Pablo Juárez García.png

26th President of Mexico

In office

January 15, 1858 – April 10, 1864

Preceded by Ignacio Comonfort

Succeeded by Maximilian I of Mexico (as Emperor)

In office

May 15, 1867 – July 18, 1872

Preceded by Maximilian I of Mexico (as Emperor)

Succeeded by Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada

President of Mexico

In exile during the French intervention

In office

April 10, 1864 – May 15, 1867

Governor of Oaxaca

In office

1847–1852

Personal details

Born Benito Pablo Juárez García

March 21, 1806

San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca

Died July 18, 1872 (aged 66)

Mexico City, Federal District

Political party Liberal

Spouse(s) Margarita Maza

Domestic partner Juana Rosa Chagoya

Benito Pablo Juárez García (About this sound /beˈnito ˈpaβlo ˈxwares garˈsi.a/ (help·info)), (March 21, 1806 – July 18, 1872)[1][2] was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served as the president of Mexico for five terms: 1858–1861 as interim, then 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872 as constitutional president.[3] He resisted the French occupation of Mexico, overthrew the Second Mexican Empire, restored the Republic, and used liberal measures to modernize the country.

Contents [hide]

1 Early life

2 Political career

2.1 Supreme Court

2.2 President

2.3 Expelling the French

3 Legacy

4 Quotations

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

Early life[edit]

Benito Juárez was born on March 21, 1806 in a small adobe home in the village of San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca, located in the mountain range now known as the "Sierra Juárez". His parents, Marcelino Juárez and Brígida García, were peasants who both died of complications of diabetes when he was three years old. Shortly after, his grandparents died as well, and his uncle then raised him.[4][5] He described his parents as "indios de la raza primitiva del país," that is, "Indians of the primitive race of the country."[5] He worked in the corn fields and as a shepherd until the age of 12, when he walked to the city of Oaxaca de Juárez to attend school.[3] At the time, he could only speak Zapotec.

In the city, where his sister worked as a cook, he took a job as a domestic servant for Antonio Maza.[3] A lay Franciscan, Antonio Salanueva, was impressed with young Benito's intelligence and thirst for learning, and arranged for his placement at the city's seminary. In 1843 Benito married Margarita Maza. Benito was 37 and Margarita was 17. With a height of 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in), Juarez is considered one of the shortest presidents in world history.[6][better source needed]

Political career[edit]

Benito Juárez with his sister Nela (left) and his wife Margarita (right), 1843

Juárez became a lawyer in 1834 and a judge in 1841.[7] He was governor of the state of Oaxaca from 1847 to 1852; in 1853, he went into exile because of his objections to the corrupt military dictatorship of Antonio López de Santa Anna.[8] He spent his exile in New Orleans, Louisiana, working in a cigar factory.[9] In 1854 he helped draft the Plan of Ayutla, a document calling for Santa Anna's deposition and a convention to implement a new constitution.

Faced with growing discontent, Santa Anna resigned in 1855 and Juárez returned to Mexico. The winning party, the liberales (Liberals) formed a provisional government under General Juan Álvarez, inaugurating the period known as La Reforma. The Reform laws sponsored by the puro (pure) wing of the Liberal Party curtailed the power of the Catholic Church and the military, while trying to create a modern civil society and capitalist economy based on the model of the United States. The Ley Juárez (Juárez Law) of 1855 declared all citizens equal before the law and severely restricted the privileges of the Catholic Church. Juarez was a Free Mason and founded the Rito Nacional Mexicano lodge in which he held the symbolic name of Guillermo Tell.

Supreme Court[edit]

Oil painting of Benito Juarez.

A new liberal constitution, the Constitution of 1857, was promulgated, under which Juárez became President of the Supreme Court of Justice, under moderado (moderate) president Ignacio Comonfort. Conservatives led by General Félix María Zuloaga, with the backing of the military and the clergy, launched a revolt under the Plan of Tacubaya on December 17, 1857. Comonfort sought to placate the rebels by appointing several conservatives to the Cabinet, dissolving the Congress, and implementing most of the Tacubaya Plan. Juárez, Ignacio Olvera, and many other deputies and ministers were arrested. These actions did not go far enough for the rebels, and on January 11, 1858 Zuloaga demanded Comonfort's resignation. Comonfort then re-established the Congress, freed all prisoners and then resigned as President. The conservative forces proclaimed Zuloaga as President on January 21. Meanwhile, under

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